J Wood Sci (2002) 48:138-146

9 The Japan Wood Research Societ3, 2002

Kei Sawata 9 Motoi Yasumura

Determination of embedding strength of wood for dowel-type fasteners

Received: August 21, 2000 / Accepted: April 18, 2001

Abstract Embedding tests parallel and perpendicular to
the grain were conducted to produce a database of embedding strength of wood for the design of dowel-type
joints. Dowel diameters were 8, 12, 16, and 20mm. Embedding strength was evaluated by the 5% off-set method and
a maximum load up to 5mm displacement according to
EN383. The embedding strength parallel to the grain
evaluated by the former method showed values close to
those obtained with the latter method, but they showed a
significant difference in tests conducted perpendicular to
the grain. The embedding strength parallel to the grain
was 0.9 times as large as the compressive strength parallel
to the grain regardless of the evaluation method. The embedding strength perpendicular to the grain evaluated
by the 5% off-set method was four times as large as the
compressive strength perpendicular to the grain. When the
embedding strength perpendicular to the grain was evaluated by a maximum load up to 5mm displacement according to EN383, the ratio of embedding strength
perpendicular to the grain to the compressive strength perpendicular to the grain decreased as the dowel diameter
increased.

Introduction

Johansen's yield theory is widely used for estimating the

yield strength of dowel-type joints. According to this
theory, the embedding strength of wood and the yield moment of the fastener governs properties for determining
the strength of joints with dowel-type fasteners. Numerous
studies have been performed on embedding characteristics of wood and wood-based materials with dowel-type
fasteners.
Hirai 2'3 investigated the influence of the embedding test
method and round bar diameter on embedding strength and
stiffness. Fujita e t a l . 4 examined the effect of edge-distance
and end-distance on the bearing characteristic of glued
laminated timber and laminated veneer lumber. These studies were based on the embedding tests in tension, and the
ultimate embedding strength obtained in these studies
might include the effects of the fracture of wood.
Whale et al. 5conducted a comprehensive investigation of
the embedding strength of softwood, hardwood, plywood.
and tempered hardboard with nails and bolts: and Ehlbeck
and Werner 6 carried out embedding tests on hardwood unKey words Embedding strength 9 Compressive strength 9 der various loading angles to the grain. These studies, being
Density 9 5% Off-set method
the basis of the design of dowel-type joints in Eurocode 5.dealt only with ultimate embedding strength; they did not
look at the yield embedding strength.
Kawamoto et al. ~ carried out the embedding tests perpendicular to the grain of glued laminated timber: and
Harada et al. 9 and Hwang and Komatsu ~ investigated the
relations between the dowel diameter and the embedding
properties obtained by the embedding tests of glued lamiK. Sawata. M. Yasumura (EEl)
nated timber and some engineered woods, respectively.
Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka
These
studies were based on compressive tests with cube422-8529, Japan
shaped specimens, and ultimate embedding strength was
Tel. +81-54-238-4863;Fax +81-54-237-3028
e-mail: afmyasu@agr.shizuoka.ac.jp
not considered. Therefore. we conducted the embedding
tests parallel and perpendicular to the grain according to
Part of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Architec- EN383 tl to examine both yield and ultimate embedding
tural Institute of Japan 1999, Hiroshima, September 1999; the 50th strengths.
annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kyoto, April
Although numerous studies 3-<s<~have been reported on
2000; and the World Conference on Timber Engineering 2000, Whisthe relations between the embedding strength of wood or
tler, Canada, July-August, 2000

139
w o o d - b a s e d materials and r o u n d b a r diameter, few d a t a
on the variance of e m b e d d i n g strength have b e e n
sought. Reliability-based design is one of the most efficient
methods for evaluating the mechanical p e r f o r m a n c e of
timber structures. A statistical a p p r o a c h when considering
the variance of e m b e d d i n g strength might be required to
a d a p t the yield theory to reliability-based design. Therefore, e m b e d d i n g tests were c o n d u c t e d on a thousand laminae with different grades, dowel diameters, and loading
directions to p r o d u c e a d a t a b a s e for the design of doweltype j oints.~2'13 Estimating the e m b e d d i n g strength from the
compressive strength of w o o d was also p r o p o s e d by comparing the e m b e d d i n g test results with those of compressive
tests.

Materials and methods

Specimens
E m b e d d i n g and compressive tests were conducted on
ezomatsu (Picea jezoensis Carriere) and t o d o m a t s u (Abies
sachalinensis Fr. Schmidt) laminae, which had four grades
(L90, L100, L l l 0 , L125) according to the J a p a n e s e Agricultural Standard. TM A p p r o x i m a t e l y 1000 specimens were cut
from m o r e than 300 laminae. D o w e l diameters (d) were 8,
12, 16, and 20 mm. The n u m b e r and densities of e m b e d d i n g
specimens for each dowel d i a m e t e r and grade are shown in
Table 1. The dimensions of the e m b e d d i n g specimen according to EN383" were 14d in length, 6d in width, and

32 m m in thickness, as shown in Fig. 1. The thickness of our

specimen was within the range of that defined in EN383,
which was ->l.5d and -<4d.
Compressive specimens were cut near the e m b e d ding specimens. T h e dimension of compressive specimens
was 3 2 m m square in the loading section and 64ram in
height.

E m b e d d i n g tests
E m b e d d i n g tests according to EN383 were conducted as
shown in Fig. 1. Steel side plates 1 2 m m thick were placed on
both sides of the w o o d e n m e m b e r and were connected with
a dowel. T h e r e was no clearance b e t w e e n the steel plates
and the specimen. The e m b e d d i n g stress increment parallel
to the grain was 10-30 MPa/min for the elastic area. E m b e d ding tests parallel to the grain were t e r m i n a t e d when the
e m b e d d i n g displacement was equal to the dowel d i a m e t e r
or when the load decreased to half the m a x i m u m load. The
e m b e d d i n g stress increment p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the grain was
3-10 MPa/min for the elastic area. E m b e d d i n g tests perpendicular to the grain were s t o p p e d when the e m b e d d i n g disp l a c e m e n t was equal to the dowel d i a m e t e r or when the
crack reached the end of the wood.

Compressive tests
Compressive tests parallel and p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the grain
were conducted on the specimens cut from the w o o d n e a r

Table 1. Number and density of embedding specimens

Grade

Parallel to the grain

Perpendicular to the grain

No. of
specimens

No. of
specimens

Density
Mean (kg/m 3)

CV (%)

57
14
14
15
14

391
381
369
399
414

11.4
11.0
8.36
9.58
12.3

117
30
30
30
27

394
359
393
394
422

212
50
56
56
50
117
29
30
30
28

Density
Mean (kg/m3)

CV (%)

57
14
14
15
14

387
373
364
398
412

10.9
9.57
7.10
9.13
12.0

10.2
6.47
12.0
6.05
8.26

119
30
30
30
29

389
351
383
401
420

10.3
5.05
9.36
9.87
6.89

399
350
389
411
448

11.1
10.2
4.99
7.52
5.33

212
50
56
56
50

403
357
392
404
460

11.1
7.64
4.45
7.73
6.08

403
372
381
419
441

10.7
7.05
9.65
5.63
9.67

118
30
30
30
28

401
361
372
418
450

12.2
6.26
8.50
5.68
11.1

d = 8mm

Total
L90
L100
Lll0
L125
d = 12mm
Total
Lg0
L100
Lll0
L125
d = 16mm
Total
Lg0
L100
Lll0
L125
d = 20mm
Total
Lg0
L100
Ll10
L125

d, dowel diameter; CV coefficient of variation

140
Fig. 1. Configurationof embedding test. d, dowel diameter
(millimeters)

,40t
50 [

~"
~'

I i3~176

d=amm

d=12mm

30

20

40 [

~"

d=amm
~

d=lZmm

/.~

d=16mm

20

0
0

10
15
20
Displacement(ram)

25

10
15
20
Displacement(ram)

25

Fig. 2. Relations between embedding stress and displacement

the embedding specimen according to the Japanese Industrial Standard. 15 Approximately 500 specimens with a density (+_10%) close to that of the embedding specimens
were tested. Compressive tests parallel to the grain were
terminated after the maximum load was attained, and those
perpendicular to the grain were stopped when the displacement was >10% of the height of the specimen.

Results and discussion

Evaluation methods of embedding strength
The typical embedding stress-displacement curves are
shown in Fig. 2. The embedding stress parallel to the grain
showed a linear increase up to the yielding of wood and was

almost constant after yielding regardless of the increase

in displacement. The embedding stress perpendicular to
the grain showed a liner a increase up to the yielding of
wood and a continuous increase after yielding. The increment ratio after yielding was smaller as the dowel diameter
was increased. Embedding strengths were evaluated by the
5% off-set method and according to EN383, as shown in
Fig. 3. The 5% off-set method was adopted to evaluate
the yield embedding strength. With the former method the
line that goes through the points on the curves corresponding to 10% and 40% of the maximum load up to 5mm
displacement was moved 5% of the dowel diameter parallel
to the X-direction, and embedding strength is defined as
the intersection of this line and the load-displacement
curve. The latter is defined as the maximum load up to 5mm
displacement. The former and the latter are expressed as
5% embedding strength and 5mm embedding strength in

141

50

Embedding
stress

Parallel t t the grain

40

f~), 5mm

3O

._,_-1

,fi?.5%
tt~

,<

20

0.4 ,/i,, 5~m~

10

O. 1 ./b,Sm~

'erpendicule to the gra t

5mm

Displacement

Fig. 3. Method for evaluating embedding strength (re)

0
d=8mm

d=121nm

d = 16mm

d--20mm

Fig. 4. Relations between 5 mm embedding strength and lamina grade.

Diamonds, L90; squares, L100; triangles, Lll0; circles, L125

60

60

5%
50

5mm
50

.1~,0,5% = -0.188d+36< 64

.q" 4 0

4O

""

30

30

20

, ~ 20

./e,0, 5mm = -0.128d+36.85

Lz~

10

10

0
4

.1e,90,5O/o = -0.095d+15.52
i
i
i
i
8
12
16
20
Dowel diameter(mm)

.fe,9~
0
24

= -0 508d 25.66
I

12
16
20
Dowel diameter(ram)

24

Fig. S. Embedding strength as a function of dowel diameter. Circles, parallel to the grain; squares, perpendicular to the grain; symbols and vertical
bars denote the mean value and standard deviation, respectively

this paper, respectively. Embedding strength was calculated

as follows.
fe~,~ -

td

(1)

where fe is the embedding strength, a is the loading angle to

the grain, fl is the evaluation method (i.e., 5% or 5mm), P is
the load, t is the thickness of the specimen, and d is the
dowel diameter.
Embedding strength
Table 2 shows the mean values and the coefficient of variation of the embedding strength parallel and perpendicular
to the grain for each dowel diameter and lamina grade. The
density increased as the lamina grade was higher, as shown
in Table 1. Some studies 3'8 reported that the embedding

strength had a positive correlation with the density. The

5 mm embedding strength for each lamina grade are shown
in Fig. 4. As the grade increased, the 5mm embedding
strength with dowels of 8 and 12ram diameter showed a
slight increase. The increase in the 5mm embedding
strength due to lamina grade was more significant in the
specimens with a 16 or 20mm diameter dowel. The same
tendency was observed with the 5% embedding strength.
This might be caused by the fact that there was little difference in average density among each lamina grade used for
specimens with dowels 8 or 12 mm in diameter, whereas the
average density was larger with higher lamina grade for
dowels 16 or 20mm in diameter. The data from the various
lamina grades were combined in this study to simplify the
analysis.
The embedding strengths parallel and perpendicular to
the grain for each dowel diameter are shown in Fig. 5.
Although yielding of the dowel does not occur with a slen-

142
Table 2. Results of embedding test
Evaluation method

5% Embedding strength
d = 8mm
Total
L90
L100
Lll0
L125
d = 12mm
Total
L90
L100
Lll0
L125
d = 16mm
Total
L90
L100
Ll10
L125
d - 20mm
Total
Lg0
L100
Lll0
L125
5 mm Embedding strength
d = 8mm
Total
L90
LI00
Lll0
L125
d = 12mm
Total
L90
L100
Ll10
L125
d = 16mm
Total
L90
L100
Lll0
L125
d = 20mm
Total
Lg0
L100
Lll0
L125

Parallel to the grain

Perpendicular to the grain

Mean (MPa)

CV (%)

Mean (MPa)

CV (%)

26.7
26.8
25.1
28.8
25.9

17.1
8.42
11.6
23.3
15.1

14.6
15.0
13.5
15.3
14.4

17.7
10.8
14.7
20.8
19.4

35.4
36.4
35.6
33.6
36.2

10.5
9.81
12.0
7.43
11.0

14.2
14.1
14.2
14.0
14.7

15.5
8.84
19.5
15.1
15.8

32.6
28.4
31.3
33.9
36.7

13.2
10.4
7.81
9.61
9.74

14.3
12.7
14.5
14.2
15.9

17.3
16.8
13.6
20.1
10.7

33.9
31.9
31.9
35.1
36.6

11.2
8.18
9.51
7.18
11.9

13.3
12.5
11.8
13.3
15.4

20.3
14.6
17.1
12.3
21.8

34.2
33.8
32.9
35.3
34.7

10.8
6.26
6.11
14.1
11.9

22.4
21.8
21.6
23.6
22.5

16.9
10.4
16.7
18.7
18.2

37.1
37.3
37.0
36.0
38.3

10.6
9.83
12.8
7.43
11.0

18.6
17.6
18.7
18.5
19.7

17.4
il.9
19~0
I6.9
18.1

33.8
29.6
32.4
34.7
38.5

12.9
11.6
6.98
9.42
7.84

17.9
15.4
18.1
!7.9
20.3

16.1
16.3
10.1
116.1
10.1

34.3
32.5
32.5
35.6
37.0

11.1
7.63
9.61
7.64
12.0

15,3
14.5
13.7
15.5
17.7

20.9
14.2
17.7
14.6
22.9

d e r n e s s ratio of 4, the effects of b e n d i n g the d o w e l on t h e

load-displacement curve cannot be ignored. The regression
e q u a t i o n of the 5 % e m b e d d i n g s t r e n g t h p a r a l l e l to t h e grain
was o b t a i n e d f r o m the e x p e r i m e n t a l results with dowels 12,
16, and 2 0 m m in d i a m e t e r , e x c l u d i n g t h o s e with d o w e l s
8 m m in d i a m e t e r . W h a l e et al. 5 r e p o r t e d that the e m b e d ding s t r e n g t h p a r a l l e l to the grain d e c r e a s e d as the d o w e l
d i a m e t e r increased. H i r a i 3 and H a r a d a et al. 9 r e p o r t e d that
t h e e m b e d d i n g strength was a l m o s t c o n s t a n t regardless of
d o w e l d i a m e t e r . I n o u r study, t h e 5 % and 5 m m e m b e d d i n g
strengths p a r a l l e l to the grain w e r e almost c o n s t a n t r e g a r d less of d o w e l d i a m e t e r , which a g r e e d with the latter study.

F o r c o n d i t i o n s p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the grain, n u m e r o u s studies 3'4'6'9 r e p o r t e d t h a t e m b e d d i n g strength d e c r e a s e d as t h e

d o w e l d i a m e t e r increased, which m a y be c a u s e d b y the
effects of crack p r o p a g a t i o n . 3 T h e 5 % e m b e d d i n g s t r e n g t h
p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the grain d e c r e a s e d slightty as t h e d o w e l
d i a m e t e r i n c r e a s e d but c o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d a l m o s t c o n s t a n t
regardless of d o w e l d i a m e t e r for practical purposes. It was
o b v i o u s that the 5 m m e m b e d d i n g strength p e r p e n d i c u l a r to
the grain d e c r e a s e d as the d o w e l d i a m e t e r increased.
F i g u r e 6 shows the e m b e d d i n g s t r e n g t h parallel t o the
g r a i n / p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the grain ratio for e a c h d o w e l d i a m eter. T h e ratio for t h e 5 % e m b e d d i n g s t r e n g t h was a l m o s t

143

60

fe,o,5%/fe,9o,5% =

d=8mm

2.385 (Mean)
40

2.5

-9

20

o
(3x

,<

d=12mm

d = 16mm

,<

d=20mm

4O

1.5

fe,o,smm/fe,9o,smm =
4

0.041d+1.301

12

16

20

20
0
2O0

24

300 400 500 200 300 400 500 600

D o w e l diameter(ram)

Density(kg/m3)

Fig. 6. Ratio of embedding strength parallel to the grain to that perpendicular to the grain for each dowel diameter. Diamonds, ratio for
5% embedding strength; triangles,ratio for 5 mm embedding strength

Fig. 8. Relations between 5% embedding strength and density. Symbols are the same as in Fig. 5

60

1.2

d=12mm

d=Smm

fe,o,5%/fg,o,5mm

0.968 (Mean)

40
0i ~
20
"-"

0.8

0
d=20mm

d=16mm

,<

40

0.6

fe,90,5%/fe,90,5mm
I

0.4
4

12

20
= 0.016d+0.555
I

16

20

24

0
200

constant, averaging 2.4, regardless of dowel diameter. The

ratio for the 5 m m e m b e d d i n g strength decreased as the
dowel d i a m e t e r decreased. This indicates that 5 m m e m b e d ding strength p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the grain becomes close to
that parallel to the grain when the dowel d i a m e t e r is small.
This coincides the fact that there is no effect of the loading
direction in the case of softwood with a r o u n d bar of small
diameter, such as a nail fastener, s
Figure 7 shows the ratio of the 5% e m b e d d i n g strength
and the 5 m m e m b e d d i n g strength for each dowel diameter.
T h e 5% e m b e d d i n g strength parallel to the grain was almost equal to the 5 m m e m b e d d i n g strength. P e r p e n d i c u l a r
to the grain, the difference b e t w e e n the 5% and 5 m m em-

Density(kg/m3)

D o w e l diameter(ram)
Fig. 7. Ratio of 5% embedding strength to 5mm embedding strength
for each dowel diameter. Symbols and vertical bars are the same as in
Fig. 5

300 400 500 200 300 400 500 600

Fig. 9. Relations between 5 mm embedding strength and density. Symbols are the same as in Fig. 5

b e d d i n g strengths decreased as the dowel d i a m e t e r increased. The e m b e d d i n g strength parallel to the grain is not
affected by the evaluation m e t h o d because the e m b e d d i n g
stress-displacement curve parallel to the grain indicates a
perfectly elastic-plastic pattern. However, a p r o p e r evaluation m e t h o d should be used to obtain the yield and ultimate
e m b e d d i n g strength for conditions p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the
grain.
Effect of density
The relations b e t w e e n the 5% and 5 m m e m b e d d i n g
strengths and the density are shown in Figs. 8 and 9, respectively. The 5% and 5 m m e m b e d d i n g strengths were

144
Table 3. Coefficients of regression line and lower limit of 90% confidence interval between embedding strength and density
Loaded direction

Evaluation method

d (mm)

al

a2

b~ (x 10 3)

b2

b3

Parallel to the
grain

5% Embedding
strength

8
12
16
20
8
12
16
20
8
12
16
20
8
12
16
20

0.053
0.049
0.076
0.073
0.057
0.068
0.082
0.074
0.039
0.032
0.036
0.040
0.049
0.055
0.047
0.047

6.15
16.04
2.15
4.26
11.79
10.21
1.11
4.55
-0.53
1.98
-0.20
-2.80
3.35
-2.60
-0.92
-3.67

0.394
0.146
0.046
0.054
0.181
0.115
0.038
0.054
0.112
0.048
0.023
0.033
0.283
0.084
0.026
0.048

-0.308
0.115
-0.037
-0.044
-0.142
-0.091
-0.031
-0.044
-0.087
-0.037
-0.019
-0.027
-0~219
-0.065
-0.021
-0.038

104166
50.34
26.95
20.72
48.16
39.63
22.20
20.72
28.13
16.4t

5 mm Embedding
strength
Perpendicular
to the grain

5% Embedding
strength
5 mm Embedding
strength

Coefficient of regression line: fe = alp + a2

Lower limit of 90% confidence interval: feL = fe
Embedding strength (aCe),in MPa
Density: [p(kg/m3)]
p, density of the wood; al, a2, bl, b2, b3, constants

of (re~p) by Harada et al., the density of sugi (Cryptomeria

japonica D. Don) and karamatsu (Larix Ieptolepis Gordon)
were assumed to be 430 and 510kg/m ~, respectively based
on unpublished data. In the Eurocode 5 standard, embedding strength is calculated from the dowel diameter and the
density. The equation in the Eurocode 5 standard is defined
as follows.
0.082(1 - 0.01d)p
lea = (1.35 + 0.015d)sin2a + cos2a

(4)

(2)

where fe L is the lower limit of 90% confidence interval, fe is

the regression line, t(~, (o) is the value of t-distribution with
the degree of freedom (~0) and significance level (co), n is the
number of specimens, p is the density of wood, u 0 is the
mean value of the density, Spr is the sum of squares of
the density, and Ve is the residual variance. The following
equation was obtained by transformation of Eq. (2).
fe L = fe - ~/b~p 2 + b2p + b3

14.86
71.27
28.65
15.19
21.31

(blp 2 + b2p + b3

positivly correlated with the density regardless of the dowel

diameter, the evaluation method, or the loading angle to the
grain. These results agreed well with reports 3'8 that embedding strength had a positive correlation with density. The
regression line and lower limit of the 90% confidence interval between embedding strength and density were calculated. The lower limit equation of the confidence interval
was as follows, z6

sop

l 3.56

(3)

wherefeL, fe, and p are the same as in Eq. (2); and bl, b2, and
b3 are constant values.
The coefficients of regression line and Eq. (3) are shown
in Table 3. The inclination of the regression line between
the 5ram embedding strength and the density was larger
than that between the 5% embedding strength and the density. The variance of the embedding strength can be estimated by the density from Table 3.
The embedding strength divided by the density (re~p) for
each dowel diameter is shown in Fig. 10. These figures also
show the values of O~e/p) obtained by Harada et al. 9 and
Kawamoto et al. 8 and the design values of embedding
strength according to Eurocode 57 standard. For the values

where fe~ is the embedding strength (MPa), d is the dowel

diameter (mm), p is the density (kg/m3), and a is the loading
angle to the grain.
As is shown in the relations between the embedding
strength and the dowel diameter (Fig. 5), the slope of the
regression line of the 5 m m embedding strength perpendicular to the grain divided by the density was smaller than
others. When embedding strength was evaluated by the 5 %
off-set method, the values for (re~p) parallel and perpendicular to the grain obtained by this study showed good
agreement with those reported by Harada et al. and
Kawamoto et al. This indicates that 5 % embedding strength
of softwood would be estimated from dowel diameter and
density. When embedding strength was evaluated for the
maximum load up to 5ram displacement according to
EN383, the values of Oee/p) parallel to the grain were 2 3 % 29% larger than that derived by Eq. (4). The values of (re/
p) perpendicular to the grain were ctose to that of Eq, (4),
Relations between embedding strength and
compressive strength
Compressive strength parallel to the grain was evaluated
with maximum stress according to the Japanese IndUstrial

145

0.15

0.15

5mm

5%

fe,o,5% / ,o=O. 0968(1-O. 00791d)

E
0.1

f e , o, smm/,o =O.09 7 0(1-O . OO65 3 d)

"--"
"a

Hara~a__ ~

- _ ......

Kawamoto

% 0.05

0.1

Parallel

0.05

Perpendi-

tr

cular

'

12

16

20

24

Perpendicular

,<

fe ,90,Smm/,O =0.0676(1-0.0219d)

fe, 9o,5%/,o =0.0413 ( 1-0.00935d)

0

Parallel

28

12

16

20

24

Dowel diameter(mm)

28

Dowel diameter(mm)

Fig. 10. Embedding strength divided by density as a function of doweI diameter. Symbols and vertical bars are the same as in Fig. 5. ECS, design
value in Eurocode 5

1.6

10
Jce,90,5mm/fC,90 ------ 0 . 1 5 9 d + 7 . 4 5 4

fe, O,Smm/fC,O = 0. 898 (Mean)

1.2
O

<

<
0.8

g
4

fe, o,5%/fc, o = 0 863 (Mean)

0.4

fe,9o,5o/o/fC,9O= 3.937 (Mean)

Parallel to the grain

0
4

12

16

20

0
24

D o ~ e l diameter(mm)

Perpendicular to the grain

i
i
i
12
16
20
24
Dowel diameter(mm)

Fig. 11. Relations between the ratio of the embedding strength to

compressive strength and dowel diameter. Diamonds, ratio for 5%
embedding strength; triangles, ratio for 5 m m embedding strength.

Symbols and vertical bars denote the mean value and standard deviation, respectively

Standard. 15 That perpendicular to the grain was evaluated

according to ENl193; 17 the elastic line was moved 0.01
strain parallel toward X-direction, and the compressive
strength was defined as the intersection of this line and the
stress-strain curve.
Based on compressive tests, the regression line through
the origin point between the compressive strength and the
density was obtained as follows.18

constant regardless of dowel diameter or evaluation

method. The embedding strength parallel to the grain was
about 0.9 times as large as the compressive strength parallel
to the grain. When the embedding strength perpendicular
to the grain was evaluated by the 5% off-set method, the
values of (fie@) perpendicular to the grain were almost
constant regardless of dowel diameter. The 5% embedding
strength perpendicular to the grain was about four times as
large as the compressive strength perpendicular to the
grain. When the embedding strength perpendicular to the
grain was evaluated by the maximum load up to 5mm
displacement according to EN383, the values of (r
perpendicular to the grain decreased as the dowel diameter
increased.
From the result described above, 5% and 5mm embedding strengths can be estimated by the following equation
using Eq. (5) and the equations in Fig. 11.

fCo = 0.0973/)
fcgo = 0.00932p

(5)

where fco and fc9o are the compressive strengths (MPa)

parallel and perpendicular to the grain, respectively, and p
is the density (kg/m3).
The embedding strength divided by the compressive
strength (fie@) for each dowel diameter is shown in Fig. 11.
The values of (fe/fc) parallel to the grain was almost

146

Embedding strength parallel to the grain:

feo,5O/o =

feO,Smm = 0.9fc0

(6)

Embedding strength perpendicular to the grain:

fego,5o/o = 0.4fc 0
fe90,Smm = ( - 0 . 0 ] . 6 d

(7)
q- 0.745)fc0

(8)

where feo.5O/o and feo.sm~ are the embedding strengths (MPa)

parallel to the grain evaluated by the 5% off-set method
and the maximum load up to 5 mm displacement according
to EN383, respectively, feto.so/o and fe90.Smm are those perpendicular to the grain, respectively, fc o is the compressive
strength (MPa) parallel to the grain, and d is the dowel
diameter (mm).

Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn from this study.
1. The coefficient of variation of the embedding strength
from all lamina grades varies from 10% to 17% and 15% to
21%, respectively, in the parallel and perpendicular directions. There is a significant correlation between embedding
strength and density.
2. The embedding strengths parallel to the grain evaluated by the 5% off-set method and the maximum load up to
5 mm displacement according to EN383 shows close values
that are scarcely influenced by dowel diameter. The embedding strength perpendicular to the grain evaluated by the
5% off-set method is little influenced by dowel diameter as
well. However, the embedding strength evaluated by the
maximum load up to 5 mm displacement decreases as the
dowel diameter increases.
3. Embedding strength evaluated by the 5% off-set
method can be estimated from the dowel diameter and the
density of the wood. The design value of embedding
strength in the Eurocode 5 standard is useful for the embedding strength evaluated by the maximum load up to 5 mm
displacement according to EN383.
4. The embedding strength for the dowel-type fastener
can be estimated by Eqs. (6) to (8) using the compressive
strength parallel to the grain of wood.

References
1. Johansen KW (1949) Theory of timber connections. Int Assoc
Bridge and Struct Eng 9:249-262

2. Hirai T / 1989 ] Rational tesdng methods for determination of basic

lateral resistance of bolted wood-joints (in Japanese Res Bull Exp
Hokkaido Univ 46:959-966
3. Hirai T (1989/ Basic properties of mechanical wood-joints. 2. Bearing properties of wood under a bolt (in Japanese). Res Bull Exp
Hokkaido Univ 46:967-988
4. Fujita M. Komatsu K. Kawamoto N. Harada M (1995l Bearing
characteristics of glued-laminated-timber and laminated-veneerlumber with a steel rod (in Japanese). Mokuzai Gakkaishi 41:261270
5. Whale LRJ. Smith I. Larsen HJ (19871 Design of nailed and bolted
joints proposals for the revision of existing formulae tn draft
Eurocode 5 and the CIB code. tn: Proceedings of the CIB-W18
meetings, Paper 20-7-1
6. Ehlbeck J. Werner H (1992] Softwood and hardwood embedding
strength for dowel-type fasteners. In: Proceedings of the CIB-W18
meetings, Paper 25-%2
7. European Committee for Standardization (1993l Eurocode 5:
design of timber structures, part t-l: general rules and rules for
buildings, p 82
8. Kawamoto N_ Komatsu K Harada M (1993l Lateral strengths of
drift-pin joints in perpendicular to the grain loadings. III Estimation of yield loads by European yield theory (in Japanese).
Mokuzai Gakkaishi 39:1386-1392
9. Harada M. Hayashi T. Karube M. Komatsu K 19991 Dowel-bearing test of glued laminated timber with a drift-pin (in Japanese)~
Summary of technical paper, annual meeting, Architectural institute of Japan, pp 49-50
i0. Hwang KH. Komatsu K (t999~ Relationship between embedment
parameters and dowel diameter for various engineered woods
(EW) (in Japanese). Summary of technical paper of annual meeting, Architectural Institute of Japan, pp 51-52
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structures - test methods - determination of embedding strength
and foundation values for dowel type fasteners
12. Sawata K. Yasumura M (20001 Evaluation of yield strength of
bolted timber joints by Monte-Carlo simulation. In: Proceedings of
the WCTE 2000. Paper 1.4.4
13. Sawata K (2000] Study on yield strength of bolted timber ioints by
probabilistic approach. Master's dissertation. Shizuoka University
14. Ministry of Agriculture. Forestry and Fisheries (19961 Japanese
agricultural standard for structural glued laminated timber ~in
Japanese). The Japan Plywood Inspection Corporation
15. Japanese Industrial Standard 11977) Method of compressive test
for wood (in Japanese). JIS Z 2111-1977
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Asakura Shoten. Tokyo. pp 198-201
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additional physical and mechanical properties
18. Sawata K. Yasumura M (2000) Evaluating the shear strength of
bolted timber joints. Part 1. Embedding tests of wood and evaluation of embedding strength (in Japanese). Summary of technical
paper of annual meeting, Architectural Institute of Japan, pp 321322